Feudalism is a political and economic system that was prevalent in medieval Europe, primarily from the 9th to 15th centuries. Under feudalism, society was structured strictly into various hierarchies with the king at the top, followed by nobles, knights, and peasants at the bottom. The fundamental principle of feudalism was the exchange of land for service. Landowners, typically nobles, would grant parcels of land called fiefs to vassals (usually knights) in exchange for military service and protection. In return, vassals swore allegiance to their lords in a ceremony known as homage, solidifying a relationship based on mutual obligation. This system was underpinned by the manorial system, where peasants worked the land and provided the vassals and their lords with goods and labor.
The intricate layers of feudal society were deeply interwoven with the legal and social frameworks of the time. The king theoretically owned all the land and granted it to his most important nobles, who were often his relatives or closest supporters. These nobles then parceled out their land to lesser nobles, knights, and sometimes churches or monasteries. Everyone had a designated place within this hierarchy, and the system was justified and maintained through a combination of legal duties and rights, known as feudal_duties, that were enforced through a network of oaths and allegiances. This complex web was not just about land and military service; it also included various other duties and payments, which could be in the form of labor, goods, or money.
However, feudalism was not a uniformly structured or universally applied system across medieval Europe. Variations existed from one region to another, influenced by local customs, the strength of the central authority, the influence of the Church, and the nature of local economies. For instance, the feudal system in England was codified after the Norman Conquest of 1066, which saw a comprehensive redistribution of land to Norman nobles and a detailed recording of feudal obligations in the Domesday Book of 1086. In contrast, regions in Eastern Europe saw a different evolution of feudal relations, often influenced by the Byzantine and later Ottoman empires. The magnates in these regions held vast estates yet operated under a different set of legal and military frameworks.
Feudalism began to decline by the end of the 15th century, overtaken by the growth of powerful monarchies, the rise of towns and trade, and the development of more modern forms of military organization. The Black Death also played a role in its decline by drastically reducing the population, which altered the economic value of land and labor. Movements like the English Peasant's Revolt in 1381 highlighted the growing unrest among the lower classes against feudal obligations. Over time, the feudal system was replaced by more centralized forms of governance and the early capitalist systems that recognized money over land as the basis of wealth. The enclosure movements and the rise of a market economy were instrumental in this transformation, marking the end of the medieval and the beginning of the modern era.